John Macnab
By John Buchan
4/5
()
Unavailable in your country
Unavailable in your country
About this ebook
Sir Edward Leithen, John Palliser-Yeates, and Charles, Earl of Lamancha, are three middle-aged friends who, despite having risen to prominent and respectable positions in British society, find themselves bored and disillusioned with their everyday lives. To combat their malaise, the friends write to three large estates in the Scottish Highlands under the false name of John Macnab warning them that he will poach an animal from each of the estates. The three men then set out to fulfill their ridiculous threat, avoiding the estate-owners’ detection as they do so.
One of the main characters of John Macnab, Sir Edward Leithen, features prominently in several other John Buchan novels, including The Power-House, The Dancing Floor, The Gap in the Curtain, and Sick Heart River.
HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.
John Buchan
John Buchan was a Scottish diplomat, barrister, journalist, historian, poet and novelist. He published nearly 30 novels and seven collections of short stories. He was born in Perth, an eldest son, and studied at Glasgow and Oxford. In 1901 he became a barrister of the Middle Temple and a private secretary to the High Commissioner for South Africa. In 1907 he married Susan Charlotte Grosvenor and they subsequently had four children. After spells as a war correspondent, Lloyd George's Director of Information and Conservative MP, Buchan moved to Canada in 1935. He served as Governor General there until his death in 1940. Hew Strachan is Chichele Professor of the History of War at the University of Oxford; his research interests include military history from the 18th century to date, including contemporary strategic studies, but with particular interest in the First World War and in the history of the British Army.
Read more from John Buchan
The Greatest Ghost and Horror Stories Ever Written: volume 1 (30 short stories) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Greatest Ghost and Horror Stories Ever Written: volume 4 (30 short stories) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Gap in the Curtain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHuntingtower Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5John Macnab Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5John Burnet of Barns Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Blanket of the Dark Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Free Fishers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWitch Wood: Authorised Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Book of Shadows Vol 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings50 Halloween Stories you have to read before you die (Golden Deer Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTRICK OR TREAT Boxed Set: 200+ Eerie Tales from the Greatest Storytellers: Horror Classics, Mysterious Cases, Gothic Novels, Monster Tales & Supernatural Stories: Sweeney Todd, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Frankenstein, The Vampire, Dracula, Sleepy Hollow, From Beyond… Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrestor John Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Island of Sheep: Authorised Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSick Heart River: Authorised Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Greenmantle Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Greatest Books of All Time Vol. 5 (Dream Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreenmantle Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/550 Horror masterpieces you have to read before you die [newly updated] (Golden Deer Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to John Macnab
Related ebooks
John Macnab Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Curious Quest Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDoctor On The Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Friend The Murderer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Curious Quest Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChosen Path: Bodhi King Novel, #7 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Man Who Knew Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Red Chamber Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLet Your Mind Alone! And Other More or Less Inspirational Pieces Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Secret Places of the Heart Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Dash for a Throne Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThree Men in a Boat Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Thought He Was Dead: A Spiritual Memoir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsScience fiction stories - Volume 15 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Secret Places of the Heart (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5JEROME K. JEROME: Three Men in a Boat, Three Men on the Bummel & Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwo Fisted Nasty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOnly One Winner: Science Fiction Mystery Tales Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sign of the Four: "Jealousy is a strange transformer of characters." Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsValentine and the Undead Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Friend the Murderer: A Chilling Tale Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSecret Places of the Heart Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFury: A Must Read Crime Thriller Full of Twists Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Man who Knew Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Haunted Hotel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Half Hearted Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Strange Lapses of Larry Loman: "A highbrow is a man who has found something more interesting than women" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife Raft: Earth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReliquary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe House on the Fens Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Action & Adventure Fiction For You
Billy Summers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wool: Book One of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shift: Book Two of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shantaram: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Swamp Story: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Read with Jenna Pick Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Count of Monte Cristo Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dust: Book Three of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crime and Punishment Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5James Patterson's Alex Cross Series Best Reading Order with Checklist and Summaries Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Learn German! Lerne Englisch! ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND: In German and English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We, the Drowned Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Our Town: A Play in Three Acts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prodigal Summer: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bean Trees: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outlawed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Grace of Kings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Robe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5River God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Learn Italian! Impara l'Inglese! ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND: In Italian and English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The King Must Die: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Eight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Invasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Scarlet Pimpernel Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Golden Notebook: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for John Macnab
64 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unlike many Buchan books, the adventure in this one has no political side to it (except for the fact that some politicians take part). Rather, it is adventure purely for the fun & sport of it.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not the best Buchan, but still Buchan. I think I've written elsewhere about the characteristic Buchan moral tone. It is in evidence here. What a lovely man.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A ripping yarn which just grabs you and carries you along. It is a hugely enjoyable tale of three respectable London men in the early 1920s (a barrister, a banker and a politician) who are suffering from ennui and so create a challenge to poach stag or salmon from three neighbouring Scottish Estates. I know nothing about fishing or shooting, but this does not stop you enjoying the story for what it is, which is a thriller. There is humour, romantic interest, a little politics and a bit about shooting & fishing, but the driver is the chase.I also found its setting in the 1920s very interesting when comparing it to the humorous books of Wodehouse (Jeeves & Wooster and the Blandings series), as it did mention the Great War both as in the past for one of the major characters and for a minor character near the end.This book is a real joy to read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I have fond memories of this book from my reading in early adolescence, so I was pleased to find it available to download free to my Kindle. It was published in 1925 but still feels fresh and spirited. This upper class world of fine manors and expansive grounds is as far away from me now as it was when I first read it as a miner's son in a council house, but that is part of the charm. The class assumptions are amusing, and relieved by Buchan's essentially liberal sentiments despite his being very much part of the aristocratic world in his day job as diplomat and governor. Above all, he is a supreme writer of adventure; here the reader is caught up by the thrill of the chase as three friends try for a dare to hunt game from heavily defended estates, using the collective pseudonym John Macnab. I know nothing whatsoever about hunting and shooting (am temperamentally opposed to both), but I found myself rooting for 'Macnab' and as a reader inhabiting his skin - that's the power of the story and the skill of a great writer in the genre. When I settled down to read, I wondered if I would be as absorbed as I had been nearly fifty years before. The magic was still in the pages, or in this case the screen. By the way, much though I love books, I feel my pleasure was not lessened in any way by using the electronic reader. This was one of my first sustained experiences with the Kindle, and I'm sure I'll be doing a lot more of my reading in this form from now on, especially when I can get it for free.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A splendid romp, very well sustained